And not coincidentally, Republic’s led by Vernon W. Hill II, a Moorestown millionaire who founded Commerce in 1973 and oversaw dramatic growth until his abrupt departure one year before its sale.

In Hill’s view, the strategy for success at Cherry Hill-based Commerce — a focus on convenience and customer service — will work equally well for Republic.

Each bank has also relied on South Jersey consumers to build momentum.

Republic now has half of its 22 branches in the tri-county area, with another to open in Gloucester Township in 2018’s first quarter. Offices are also planned in Deptford and Lumberton.

“Certainly, Vernon Hill’s knowledge of the South Jersey market is a tremendous asset as we rapidly grow,” said Andrew Logue, a former Commerce executive who now is Republic’s president and chief operating officer.

“We’re planning more than 50 stores by the end of 2021,” he said, noting Republic will also open a branch next month in Fairless Hills, Bucks County, Pa. "That means more than doubling our store footprint across South Jersey and Pennsylvania and reaching $4.7 billion in deposits.”

And that’s just for starters, according to Hill.

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A Republic Bank employee sports a promotional t-shirt at the opening of a Sicklerville branch on the 600 block of Cross Keys Road in July.(Photo: Jim Walsh/Staff photographer)

“The real story for Commerce was the rise up the (East) Coast and into New York,” he said of his first bank, which eventually had some 440 branches with $8.5 billion in assets.

“We would likely take that same path,” said Hill, who also launched fast-growing Metro Bank in London in 2010.

He notes Republic’s growth is coming at a time of retrenchment for the banking industry. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. covered 5,787 institutions at June 30, down from 6,058 a year earlier.

“As we watch our competition shutter the doors on their branch network, we see endless opportunities,” Hill said when Republic announced sharply higher earnings last month.

Construction of Republic’s glass-walled branches will be funded through a $100 million stock sale announced in December, when Hill was named chairman of the bank’s parent firm, Republic First Bancorp Inc.

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Republic Bank, run by the founder of the former Commerce Bank, plans to expand in South Jersey.(Photo: Jim Walsh/Staff photographer)

“It took us four or five years to prepare for this,” said Hill, a major investor in Republic who previously was a behind-the-scenes force at the bank.

“At the same time,” Logue said, “we’re also continuing to invest in the most innovative digital banking offerings and technologies.”

In an Oct. 21 earnings report, Republic’s parent firm said third-quarter net income rose 73 percent from a year earlier, from $1.3 million to $2.3 million. Assets were 40 percent higher, at $2.1 billion on Sept. 30.

The bank’s performance is likely delighting shareholders.The parent firm’s stock closed at $9 per share Friday, up from $3.80 per share a year earlier.

Not everyone’s happy, though.

An employee at Republic’s Berlin office, Milah Blunt of Chesilhurst, sued the firm in August alleging she was the target of racial discrimination and offensive remarks by a manager.

Blunt’s allegations are “deeply disturbing,” asserted her attorney, Matthew Luber of Evesham, who said the woman was “fighting back against racism and bigotry.”

Logue said Republic does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters, but added, “We have zero tolerance for workplace discrimination of any kind.”

Hill has faced some setbacks since Commerce directors demanded his resignation in June 2007 as part of a deal with a federal regulator. The Office of the Controller of the Currency was investigating real estate transactions involving Commerce, Hill and his wife Shirley and other relatives.

A federal court ruling in 2014 rejected Hill’s claim that he was owed a $17 million severance payment from Cherry Hill-based Commerce.

In 2015, he and his wife lost an appeal of the sizable tax bill of their East Main Street mansion, now assessed at almost $17.3 million.

The property tax for the home — with 11 full bathrooms, six bedrooms, three kitchens, two massage rooms and a wine cellar, among other amenities — is about $445,000 a year.

And a federal judge last year barred Hill from selling a book on his business philosophy, “The Power of Wow!” after TD Bank argued it acquired the work’s copyright when it bought Commerce.

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A business card identifies Sir Duffield, the Yorkshire terrier of international banker Vernon Hill II of Moorestown.(Photo: Jim Walsh/Staff photographer)

Hill gave away autographed copies of the book at a July Republic branch opening in Sicklerville, where the chairman greeted customers while holding his Yorkshire terrier, Sir Duffield.

The dog, also known as Duffy, has a Twitter account with almost 2,000 followers. It's used primarily to promote Hill's British bank and to detail the pet's life, including a recent golf outing at Pebble Beach, Calif.

In a reflection of Hill’s fondness for pets, Republic’s mascot is a dog and each branch offers dog biscuits.

The banks stock lollipops for its two-legged customers. It also lures them with free coin-counting, a service Hill introduced at Commerce, too.

TD Bank stumbled last year when it had to remove its coin-counting machines after a news report questioned their accuracy. TD has since agreed to pay up to $7.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of its Penny Arcade customers.